Italian banks continued to be under pressure amid concerns over capital hikes at Monte Paschi and UniCredit, as well as over an upcoming constitutional reform referendum. Italy's benchmark FTSE MIB hit a six-week low.

In deals news, a U.S. regulator moved to stop a planned Chinese takeover of the German chip designer Aixtron sending its shares more than 8 percent lower.

UK midcaps were also on the backfoot following outlook warnings from Essentra and Mitie, raising concerns over the impact of Brexit on domestic UK companies. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Vikram Subhedar)